Fluid-motor.



A. G. L. NEIGHBOUR.

FLUID MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 19, 1911.

Patented June 16,1914.

m H PEQW Z''ze e s es lilNlT STATES PATENT GFFCE,

ARTHUR GEORGE LLOYD NEIGHBOUR, OF BEAUMARIS, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

FLUID-MOTOR.

rinasce..

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that l, ARTHUR GEORGE LLOYDNEIGHBOUR, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at CromerRoad,`

ldeauinaris, in the State of Victoria, Cominoiiwealth of Australia,civil and mechanical engineer, have invented an Improved which reductionof weight and space are ofl primary importance.

llhis invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings whereof-Figure 1 is a section through the motor showing portion of a shaft to bedriven thereby, Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line lli-ll, Fig. 1,Fig. 3 an enlarged section on line lll-lll of Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section through the fixed spindle.

According to this invention a pluralityv of cylinders 1, together withtheir pistons 2 and other coacting parts hereinafter described, revolveabout a fixed spindle 3 preferably attached to the casing C, thusconstituting an evenly balanced Hy wheel which enables the motor to bedriven by motive fluid at a comparatively low pressure and at the sametime reduces the'vibration inherent with motors lwherein fiy wheels arenot employed.

Preferably three single acting cylinders l, closed at one end, areemployed, and they are arranged in the saine plane, tangentially andequally spaced around a central hub 4, with which they are integrallycast or joined, with their open ends in the saine direction asillustrated in the drawings. The hub may be detachable from thecylinders so as to facilitate repair. The said central hub has alongitudinal hole 5 through it, perpendicular to the plane in which the'cylinders lie` and through this hole the fixed spindle 8 is passed uponwhich the cylinders, pistons, and ccacting parts and the hub are free torotate. ln the said spindle (Figsl, 2 and i) two oppositely disposedslots 6, 7,

. are cut, the former being the inlet portto Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed December 19, 1911.

Patented J une 16, 1914:.

Serial No. 666,646.

supply motive fluid to the said cylinders and .the latter the exhaustport. The closed end `of each cylinder is provided with a port 8communicating with the hole 5 in the said central hub. The said ports 8are equally spaced around the hole in the said central hub and arearranged in such a position that they face and, when revolving, passover the ports (i, 7 in the said spindle, thus admitting motive fluid toand alternately exhausting it'from the cylinders as they rotate. Each ofthe said cylinders contains a piston 2 of the trunk type which isconnected by means of a connecting rod 9 to a tie-rod 10 joining theends of a pair of oscillatory levers 1l arranged respectively on thesides of each of said cylinders. The pairs of levers are car- ;ried onfixed or rotatable pins 12 mounted in the closed ends of the cylindersand placed parallel to the axis of the fixed spindle 3,

so that they are in front of the open ends of the cylinders. One end12ZL of each of ,said pins is extended on one side of the cyllindcrs ina longitudinal direction and serves .to transmit rotary power from themotor to the driving shaft 13 of the machine to be driven, asillustrated in Fig. 1. The ends 14 of the said levers remote from thesaid vtie rods have rigidly attached thereto pins 15, upon each of whichis carried a roller 16. One or preferably two eccentric disks 17 larerigidly attached to the aforesaid spindle, and in the case of two asillustrated, one is removable in order that the cylinders may be placedon the spindle, and said removable disk is prevented from rotating bymeans of v a key. Said disks are fixed on opposite sides 'of thecylinders with their axes collinear and upon same said rollers revolveas the cylinders rotate, thus causing the aforesaid levers to oscillatesimultaneously with the .movement of the pistons.

It will be seen, from the foregoing that the cylinders, and with themthe pistons, levers and rollers, revolve about the fixed l spindle, thewhole thus forming a fly-wheel which may be accurately balanced so as toreduce vibration to a minimum.

The manner in which the motor operates,

vand the advantages peculiar to it may be in each cylinder successively,for the salie 'of 1 clearness the description will be confined to asingle cylinder as the engine rotates. Motive fluid enters the cylinderand its pressure acts upon the piston and also upon the cylinder end,these being the only forces which can produce rotation. By balancing theturning e'ect of one or the other of these forces by a force having anequal and opposite turning eect, and leaving the other unbalanced,rotation will take place in the direction in which the latter force isapplied. This third force is the reaction of the pressure of the rollers16 on the stationary eccentric disks 17. The turning effect of suchreaction may be caused to balance either the force due to the pressureof the motive fluid against the piston, or that due to its pressureagainst the cylinder end, by forming the ports 6 and 7 in lsuitablepositions in the spindle 3 relatively to the eccentrics 17, as will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to Fig. 2, the positionV of the ports 6 and 7 is such that thecylinders will rotate in a clockwise direction, the closed ends of thecylinders moving forward. Motive fluid is entering the right-handcylinder and is just about to enter the uppermost cylinder, the pistonin the latter cylinder being at the end of its in-stroke; the left-handcyl-Y inder is open to the exhaust port 7. If the ports 6 and 7 werealtered relatively to the eccentrics, so that motive fluid would enterthe left-hand cylinder and just commence to enter the uppermost cylinderat the other edge of the port 8, the motor would revolve in the oppositedirection, the right-hand cylinder being then in communication with theexhaust port, and the open ends of the cylinders moving forward. Theport 6 is formed in the spindle in such a position that it justcommences to admit motive fluid to a cylinder when the piston containedtherein is at the commencement of its working stroke and the rollersworking in conjunction therewith are at the highest part of theeccentrics, as is the case in the uppermost cylinder in Fig. 2. Duringthe outward or working stroke of the piston, the rollers working inconjunction therewith are held upon the eccentric disks 17 by thepressure exerted on the said piston, while during the inward or exhauststroke they are kept upon the said disks in the manner now to bedescribed. Again referring to Fig. 2, it will be observed that no matterin which direction the engine rotates, as the piston makes its outwardor working stroke, the pin 12 moves away from the peripheral surfaces ofthe eccentric disks, and that during the inward or exhaust stroke thesaid pin is continually approaching the peripheral surfaces of the saiddisks. Thus it will be seen that at the commencement of the workingstroke the pin l2 occupies its closest position to the said surfaces,being adjacent to the highest part of the eccentric disks, while at theend of the said stroke it is at its greatest distance from the saidsurfaces, being then adjacent to the lowest part of the said disks. Asthe pin 12 approaches the disks, it carries the levers and, with them,the rollers continually nearer to the surfaces of the disks 17, thuspressing the rollers upon the said surfaces and, through the levers,producing the exhaust or return stroke of the piston. No special meansare necessary, therefore, to produce the exhaust or return strokes ofthe pistons, each of the latter and its lever forming a separate anddistinct system.

Owing to the construction of this engine, no pressure other than thatdue to centrifugal force, which is small, as previously pointed out, canbe exerted upon the piston in a transverse direction, since the reactionon the rollers can, through themedium of the levers and connecting rods,only reach the pistons in the direction of their length, in consequencewhereof, no guides are needed to resist such pressure.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declarethat what I claim is z- 1. In a rotary, fluid motor, the combination ofa fixed, hollow spindle; a plurality of connected cylinders, each ofwhich is open at one end and closed at the other, rotatable about saidspindle and having their axes tangential to the same, the open end ofeach cylinder being adjacent to the closed end of the next cylinder; afulcrum pin mounted in the closed end of each cylinder parallel withsaid spindle; a pair of levers fulcrumed centrally upon the ends of eachpin; a tie-rod extending across the open end of each cylinder parallelwith the adjacent fulcrum pin and connecting the presented ends of theadjacent pair of levers; a pison reciprocating in each cylinder andconnected with the adjacent tie-rod; a pair of rollers provided uponeach pair of levers at their free ends; and a pair of eccentrics fixedto said spindle at opposite sides of said cylinders, with their axescollinear, around the peripheries of which eccentrics said rollers areadapted to travel during the rotation of the cylinders, to producemovement of the pistons in one direction.

2. In a rotary, fluid motor, the combination of a iixed, hollow spindle,adapted for connection with a source of motivelluid supply and providedwith central inlet and exhaust ports communicating, respectively, withits ends; a plurality of connected cylinders, each of which is open atone end and closed at the other, rotatable about said spindle and havingtheir axes tangential to the same, the open end of each cylinder beingadjacent to the closed end of the next cylinder, and the latter endthereof being provided with a port which communicates alternately withthe spindle ports as the cylinder rotates; a fulcrum pin mounted in theclosed end of each cylinder parallel with said spindle; a pair of leversfulcrumed centrally upon the ends of each pin; a tie-rod extendingacross the open end of each cylinder parallel with the adjacent fulcrumpin and connecting the presented ends of the adjacent pair of levers; apiston reciprocating in each cylinder and connected with the adjacenttie-rod; a pair of outwardly-pro jecting lateral pins attached to thefree ends of each pair orp levers; a pair of rollers revolubly mountedupon each pair of lateral pins; and a pair of eccentrics fixed to saidspindle at opposite sides of said cylinders, with their axes collinear,around the peripheries of which eccentrics said rollers are adapted totravel during the rotation of the cylinders, to produce movement of thepistons in one direction.

3. In a rotary, iuid motor, the combination of a fixed, hollow spindle;a hollow hub revoluble thereon; a plurality of cylinders, each of whichis open at one end and closed at the other, rigidly connected to the hubfor rotation therewith and having their axes tangential to the spindle,the open end of each cylinder being adjacent to the closed end of thenext cylinder, and the said spindle forming a valve for admission andexhaust of motive fluid to and from the cylinders; a fulcrum pin mountedin the closed end of each cylinder parallel with said spindle; a pair oflevers fulcrumed centrally upon the ends of each pin; a tie-rodextending across the open end of each cylinder parallel with theadjacent fulcrum pin and connecting the presented ends of the adjacentpair of levers; a piston reciprocating in each cylinder and connectedwith the adjacent tie-rod; a pair of rollers provided upon each pair oflevers at their free ends; and a pair of eccentrics fixed to saidspindle at opposite ends of said hub, around the peripheries of whicheccentrics the said rollers are adapted to travel during the rotation ofthe cylinders, to produce movement of the pistons in one direction.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR GEORGE LLOYD NEIGHBOUR.

Witnesses:

EDWARD N. WATERS, WILLIAM H. WATERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

